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Sports Notebook
Summer camps lure college-football hopefuls

By Ethan Holly

As summer passes the halfway mark, several of Corona’s top returning football players have attended important summer camps run by college coaches. Seniors-to-be Mitchell Hunt (DL/OL) and Matt Mosley (WR/DB) are working hard to continue Corona’s tradition of churning out top notch football prospects for big time schools.

Hunt has appeared at camps for Oregon State, Nebraska and Texas A&M. After an impressive showing for the Beavers, Hunt was offered his first scholarship. Mosley also obtained a scholarship offer from Oregon State as well as from ASU and Montana.

“Me and Hunt are thinking about it (playing football at the same college),” Mosley said. “We are both going to take an official trip down there, and it is definitely a possibility.  A big factor will be if it is a great place to live for five years.”

The Aztecs recently headed north to the mountains to prepare for the upcoming season.

“The main goal of team camp at Snowflake is team bonding,” Senior Casey Schreiner said. “There are three-a-day practices but they are non-contact.”

Possible transfers to the team will aid the Aztecs in their quest to retain the Central Region title. Chase Larson of Hamilton High as well as Ryan Howard of Brophy High School are expected to be in the mix at the quarterback position and are also attending the camp.

“They can definitely help the team,” Mosley said. “Any addition to the team that can help us will be great.”

With few returning starters from last year’s region championship team, players who have playoff experience, such as Mitchell Hunt, Matt Saba, Robert Holbrook, Matt Mosley and Casey Schreiner, will need to play their best to ensure Corona has another successful season.

“We  have very few returning starters,” Schreiner said. “However, those that are coming back are very solid.  If everyone steps it up we can win region.”

The Tempe Summer League went well for the Corona Boys Varsity basketball team. In the semi-finals, the Aztecs defeated rival Desert Vista 60-50. 

“We got up on them on defense, we hustled, and we also rebounded,” Junior Steve Harmon said.

They fell short, however, in the finals against the reigning 5A state champion Mountain View Toros. As well as finishing second in the Tempe Summer League, Corona placed well at the summer camp they attended in San Diego, battling all the way to the championship game as well. Through the entire summer the Aztecs lost a total of three games.

Phil Feinberg was selected as one of 32 members of the Youth USA track team. The team departed July 15 for Marrakech, Morocco, where they will compete against teams from around the world. Joining Feinberg from Arizona was Cliff Mckenzie, assistant superintendent of the Scottsdale School District, who was an assistant coach for the team.

Rugby’s popularity is booming in Arizona. Last year more than 2,000 men and women in the state participated in rugby leagues governed by the Arizona rugby union.

“It is almost like combining soccer and American football,” Loren Broussard said.

High school athletes interested in participating can join rugby clubs such as the Tempe U 19s. Because the game is still fairly new in the Valley, most clubs do not have tryouts and open their teams to anyone interested in playing.

“All it takes is your own dedication,” Broussard said.

The official rugby season in Arizona will kick off in the spring.

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